Race #4 at New Smyrna Speedway
10-07-06 - VIDEO

Wow! My first 50 lapper!

I've really been looking forward to this race because I have never run a race that was more than 20 laps. I tend to start a little slow and give up a little bit on the start. As a result, I spend the whole race just trying to get caught up with the leaders. Since they always seem to wreck in the front in the first few laps I figured all this would play into my hands. I would start slow avoiding the wrecks and saving my tires while I got faster and faster as the laps wound down and the field thinned out. It was a pretty good plan but then, like I said, I've never run a 50 lapper before... (more)

We had just one week between races and we had a few problems still with the car as a result of the wreck we had back in August. After replacing a few more parts we went to work on the set up to make sure everything was back where it was supposed to be.

We had a little extra time on Friday so we took some close measurements of the rear suspension. I have been having some problems getting off the corners which was partially because I was driving into the corners a little too deep but the car always felt loose coming off no mater how I drove it in. We made some changes to the way the control arms were angled and I could really tell the difference. My car chief has been telling me that if I don't wreck the car he can spend our money and time trying to make the car better instead of just trying to get it back to where it was. I think I see what he means!

We don't run heats races at New Smyrna to set the race order. They usually set it by inverting the points or something like that, but in the 50 lap races they set the race order by qualifying. It's been a few years since I have done qualifying and that was in Go-Karts where we got 5 laps to get up to speed. In Late Models that give you about a half a lap to get up to speed and 2 laps to get your fastest time. When I went out I didn't push the car hard until I came off turn 4 so I was already slow for the first lap. I was a little better in the second laps but I was still about a second slower that the poll sitter. Still, I wasn't the slowest! I qualified 10th out of 12 cars. We all agreed when we got the race order that 10th would be a real good starting spot for me.

As usual, no one ever lines up right. One car didn't even come back out and another car decided to drop back so that put me in 8th on the start. I stayed with them watching for the wreck but it never came. Everybody was pretty cautious and we made it through turns one and 2 with out any problems.

I was a little nervous and I needed about 2 or 3 laps to get busy enough that I settled down. On lap 2, going into turn 3, I drove the car in way too deep and slide way up the track letting the 9th place car by me. After that I settled down and worked on getting into a rhythm.

Everybody has been telling me that I have to go slow to go fast. It all sounds great but it is really hard to do. I've try to do it but then I'm afraid that they will get away from. The car that passed me was pulling me off the corners and, as usual, I was driving in as hard as I could to catch him. I finally decided to let the car roll in a little bit easier and then try to get back to the gas earlier like everybody has been telling me to do. It took a few laps to figure it out, but about 8 laps later I was back on his rear bumper and another 4 laps later he just gave me the bottom and I pulled under him for the pass going through turns 3 and 4.

Just as I got by him, the yellow came out for a spin up ahead of us. I tried to keep the position but the officials made me give it back. They put the spinning car to the rear and we lined back up for the re-start. I was now in 8th, one other car had dropped out so there was only a slower car behind me and the car that spun who was pretty fast. He got a good start and passed the slow car at the start line and was under me going into turn one. I gave him the inside and slide up a little bit more almost giving the slow car my position too. But, I held on and finally got going and started looking for that 8th place car again.

I caught him on the next lap but, like before, I was driving the car in too hard and almost ran into the back of him a couple times. I had to get hard on the brakes to avoid hitting him and then he would pull me off the corner. I settled down and tried to set him up so that I would catch him coming off the corners and beat him going down the straight away. It took me a few laps but I finally got under him and he gave me plenty of room to pass him underneath in turn one for the 8th position.

The 7th place car had about a 1/2 a straight away on me and so I settled back into my rhythm and slowly gained on him a little each lap. About 10 laps later I was within a couple car lengths of him when he slide high coming off turn 4 and I got a great run off the corner and made the pass going into turn one for 7th.

It was now about 35 laps into the race and I was getting pretty tired. I ran about another 10 laps and I don't know if it was me trying too hard to get off the corner or that I was pretty much worn out, but all of a sudden, as I was coming off turn 2, I got real loose and turned down to the apron into the grass and eventually spun back up on the track about half way down the back stretch. I was headed right for the outside wall so I just turned the wheel and let it spin the rest of the way around coming to a stop facing the wrong way right in the middle of the track.

When I spun, the leaders were coming up behind me and had just put the car behind me a lap down before I spun out. Luckily, everyone was able to get past me without crashing into me or anyone else. I got the car re-started and lined back up for the re-start and since I was the last car on the lead lap I got my position back!

We had 7 laps to go and I got a pretty good start but I could tell that my tires were pretty much wore out so I was careful not to run the car too hard into the corner this time. I was able to keep the car down on the yellow line and pull hard coming off the corners so no one could get past me but I lost some distance on the car in front of me. We ran about 5 or 6 laps and I tried to gain a little on the 6th place car but couldn't make much progress. Then, the last place car either spun in the same place I did and, with 2 laps to go, the caution came out again.

We lined up as we had been running after they towed the car off the track. On the final restart I guess I was as worn out as my tires and I drove it in too hard again and slide way up the track. The 2 cars that were behind me got by in turns one and 2 but it didn't really make any difference because they were both a lap down. When the checkers came out I finished the race in 7th place.

My little off track excursion tore up the supports that hold the bottom of the nose piece from folding under but, other than that, the car was still in the same shape as when I started the race. This time I think I took a worse beating than the car did! I guess I better start working out because I can't wait to run my next 50 lap race.